Details on the October 15 version update outlines several key fixes.

Today's version update to Final Fantasy XIV brought several key adjustments, including a vastly improved way of browsing the Market Wards, newly categorized wards, and adjustments to the party bonus system.

- Targeting and selecting a retainer will automatically open their Bazaar.

- The party bonus system (which awards bonus skill points for battles fought in a party) has been changed so that the bonus is awarded based on the number of fellow party members in the same area who are within the appropriate skill rank range, not simply the total number of party members.

* The party bonus system awards more points when there are more party members within the appropriate skill rank range.* In this case, "appropriate skill rank range" means a skill rank no more than five ranks lower or higher than your own.

- The maximum numbers of crystals and shards each character and retainer is capable of carrying have been changed to 9,999.* With the maximun numbers of crystals and shards that can be transferred at one time through trade and bazaar will remain as 999.* This is a temporary measure and crystals or shards obtained in excess of this amount will automatically be discarded. The system is undergoing a fundamental redesign and adjustments will continue to be made.

* Caution on numbers that can be traded at one time through trade and bazaar has been added at around 2:50 PDT on Oct. 15, 2010.

- NPC display priority has been modified. This will ensure that important NPCs, such as Baderon, are displayed first.

- An issue where the retainer would not appear when summoned with the Summoning Bell has been fixed.

- An issue where the retainer would be visible to other players when summoned with the bell has been fixed.

- An issue where text commands could be used to equip items that the player should not have been able to equip has been fixed.

Vastly improved might be stretching it a little bit. There's still some fundamnetal issues/problems. Mainly, if your an armorsmith there's seperate wards for leggings, body, helmet, etc. So if you are selling both leggings and a helmet, which ward to sit in?

When your other item sells while your afk/grinding/away from your retainer, do you really want to travel to your retainer and tell him to move up one ward? etc?

Its a step in the right direction for sure though. Now if they can go two steps further and put in a mailbox system at each major city/camp. Repair npcs at just the lvl 10/20 camps as lvl 30+ camps are too expenisve to be able to afford to repair your gear at an npc and a few other fixes not on their planned improvement list, we'd be good to go!